The Only Certainty

March 3, 2007 in Poems of Love, Poems of Travel, The Poet's Eyes, The Poet's Tongue...

Peace, one and all…

I wrote the following two poems this evening, on my way home from work.  Both poems reflect on themes of difference and disagreement, and what these mean to us as we walk through life.  At any rate, I hope you enjoy and may God make them beneficial.

The Only Certainty

The only certainty,
in this most uncertain life,
is disagreement,

the sure knowledge that others
will disagree with your path
and your choices.

So be it.

I’m an adult now
and though there is much within me
that is faulty and limited,
I have spent long years
in the honest toil
of thought and reflection and growth.

Accepting this,
how then should we meet disagreements
when we encounter them
on the open road of life?

Should we be fearful,
allowing those narrow fears
to tempt us into the folly
of unjust ridicule?

Or should we greet ideas
as we would greet guests in our home;
with courtesy, patience
and an indulgent understanding?

As I write these words
my hearts speaks a secret:

Such unbounded fear is unworthy,
when our Lord says
we should fear none but Him.

Unconnected Labels

My friend, the words that come out
of our mouths mean little
if they stand unconnected
to an inner sincerity.

Indeed, every word we speak is vain
if it does not lead us towards good character.

The garments we clothe our tongues with
are worth nothing if they do not cover
the nakedness of unworthy intentions.

This is why we must take and use
our labels with great care.

For in this world of myriad tongues,
can we ever truly say we understand
the spoken thoughts of another?

Ma’as salama,
Abdur Rahman